In a typical access point network, when a user of a mobile data terminal wants to use a network service such as a network printer via his data terminal, it is necessary for him to first install a driver corresponding to the service onto the data terminal. In addition, the user must detect information related to the service such as an IP address before being able to use the service. These time consuming configuration processes are typically done manually by the user or by a network administrator. Likewise, in dynamic networks where services are constantly being added and removed, a network administrator must be employed to maintain and reconfigure the network. As a result, a user must wait until the network is reconfigured before he can take advantage of newly offered network services.
Recently, various IP-level service discovery protocols (SDPs) have been developed that enable users to obtain access to network services automatically without requiring the user or network administrator to install a driver and search for the IP address of the desired service. Examples of such SDPs include Service Location Protocol (SLP) by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Bluetooth SDP by Bluetooth SIG, JINI by SUN Microsystems, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) by Microsoft, or Salutation by Salutation Consortium. Although these SDPs may offer some kind of automatic service updates, they are nevertheless incompatible with each other, absent additional configuration by a network administrator or a user, and are not capable of providing service information to a wireless data terminal user communicating in a wireless short range access point network.
Thus, there is a need for a mechanism that enables IP-level SDPs to communicate with one other and permits wireless data terminal users to obtain access to network services automatically, without requiring any additional network configuration.